


All Because of a Snowball

by Kat123



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Gift Fic, M/M, One Shot, Oneshot, don't throw snowballs in anger, especially at at Seed, think before you act, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 13:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17940902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat123/pseuds/Kat123
Summary: Deputy Sebastian Maxwell spies on the youngest Seed brother one chilly winter day, and his impetuous nature gets the best of him.





	All Because of a Snowball

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Infinitefleurs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinitefleurs/gifts).



> This was my late Christmas present for the awesome 'Infinitefleurs', featuring her male Deputy OC Sebastian Maxwell (fic given to her earlier, I just hadn't had the time to post it up on AO3 until now). Sorry again to make you wait so long for it hon! <3

Sebastian Maxwell knew this was a bad idea.

In the deep recesses of his mind where that annoying thing called ‘common sense’ lurked... he knew he shouldn’t have come here. Knew that this was risky, maybe even downright stupid.

However... as he peered around the side of the tree he’d obscured himself behind and stared at the back door of Seed Ranch, focusing on the dapper, bearded man that’d intrigued him ever since he’d first laid eyes on him... he found himself not caring all that much.

He pulled his jacket around himself tighter as a sharp gust of wind blew by, sending a light dusting of snowflakes sweeping past his cheeks. It made him glad that he'd decided to wear a flannel shirt today, instead of his trademark floral shirt that his friends liked to lecture him about (Sharky had even threatened to ‘accidentally’ set fire to it one time, to Seb's horror).

“Brother John-”

Seb ducked as a Peggie emerged from the opposite side of the chalet from where he was hiding and approached the youngest Seed brother, who was currently reviewing a clipboard in his tattooed hands. John looked up at the sound of his name.

“The unforeseen weather has delayed some of the shipments to the bunker,” the Peggie continued. “The people aren’t in dire straits for the moment - but if the snow keeps up, we may need to rethink some of our supply methods.”

John glanced down at his clipboard, then back up at the Peggie.

“Very well,” he said after a moment. “Just keep me updated. We can't afford to fall too far behind, especially now with the Collapse imminent.”

The Peggie nodded and headed back around the side of the house as John raised the clipboard up to his face once more.

Seb peeked around the side of the tree again, eyeing the herald in his airplane-patterned trench coat. The man was... both alluring and infuriating at the same time. After Seb had escaped from John’s bunker a while back, they’d exchanged witticism and snark over the radio several times. Gradually, each conversation had become more and more informal, bordering on... _flirtatious_.

Seb frowned, irritated by the slight flip in his stomach as he stared with narrowing eyes.

_‘Pain in the ass...’_

Before the logical part of his brain could stop him, he bent over, compacted a fist-sized ball of snow from around his boots, and hurled it as hard as he could toward the Seed with a soft grunt.

The snowball burst when it collided with the back of John’s clipboard, sending small flecks of crystalline ice in all directions within a two-foot radius. The clipboard, in turn, hesitated before ominously beginning to lower.

In a different situation, Seb might have cackled and paid any price to see John’s face pelted with snow... but for right this second-

_‘Shit! Freaking moron!’_ Seb’s brain hissed at him as he whirled back around the tree again with a gasp. Grimacing, his eyes darted around frantically for the quickest way out of there before John could call his men over. The garden shed a small distance away gave him a moment’s pause. Hearing footsteps trudging through the drifts behind him, he decided to take his chances and bolted as fast as his legs would carry him.

The footsteps accelerated also, but he didn’t dare risk turning his head around to look. Racing up the small set of stairs in front of him, he dove behind the shed and paused a moment to catch his breath. It was bad enough trying not to slip in the snow, let alone attempting to _run_ in it. His breathing hitched in his throat when a voice in close proximity called out to him.

“Dep-u-tyyyy...” the voice drawled out melodically, measuring somewhere between amusement and annoyance. “...Did you _really_ think it would be that easy?”

Weighing out his options, Seb closed his eyes and sighed.

“Y’know, to be honest... I didn’t really plan this far,” he called back dryly.

A sardonic chuckle came back in response.

“It isn’t wise to be sneaking around out here...” John’s voice continued, sounding even closer now. “Especially in weather like this.”

Before Seb could reach for the firearm on his back, he saw movement out of the corner of his left eye. He slowly turned his head, already aware of the view that awaited him. Sure enough, there stood the youngest Seed brother - his signature white rifle aimed at Seb’s chest. Despite their wintry surroundings, John’s blue eyes burned into Seb's green.

“...You could catch your death of cold,” he added, his voice a honeyed timbre with undertones of vitriol.

A small shiver ran through Seb that he was pretty sure had nothing to do with the frigid air.

“And yet, _I’m_ not the one with bits of snow still on my face,” he retorted, fighting back a smirk as he eyed the tiny bits of frost scattered in John’s beard. “So... I think I’ll be all right.”

John’s eyes narrowed even more, face hardening while his grip tightened on his rifle. “Are you sure about that?” he challenged. “Look where your sin has led you, Deputy Maxwell - once more at the wrong end of a gun. Which begs the question: what to do with you?”

“Well... if I’m cursed to damnation for simply throwing a snowball, then I guess there really is no hope for me, is there?” Seb didn’t even try to hide his smile this time.

John  _tsked_ and shook his head. “Oh Deputy... we both know your sin delves _so_ much deeper than that. You were on the path to redemption inside my bunker. You showed such promise - but then your errant little Resistance interfered before you could fully atone.” He paused for a moment before his expression softened. “...What was it that you told me that first night? ‘Ad astra per aspera’?”

“ ‘To the stars through difficulties’,” Seb murmured. His gaze lowered, smile fading as he reminisced back to his time in the bunker.

John’s rifle lowered a little. “...I _want_ to help you, Sebastian,” he murmured, “but you make it very difficult.”

Seb scowled and met his eyes again.

“ _Help?_ ” he spat. “I’ve lost count of how many times you and your Peggies have almost killed my friends and other innocent people - people who aren’t hurting anyone, who just want to live their lives in _peace_.”

“ ‘Innocent’ people like Nicholas Rye and Charlemagne Boshaw?” John shot back. “Sinners who are given a chance for salvation and throw it away instead?? The Collapse _is_ coming, Deputy. And it’s up to _you_ whether you will be saved... or condemned. I’m just trying to help you make the right decision.”

Seb gritted his teeth, reminded of Sharky’s still-healing right upper arm wound - in which a bullet from one of John’s Peggies grazed the flesh and missed Sharky’s chest by less than a few inches - all because Sharky and the others risked their lives to rescue Seb and other hostages from John’s bunker.

“Through _violent force_ ,” he snarled. “Yeah... you’re a real ‘savior’.” Riled up and once again not considering the consequences of his actions, he seized a fistful of snow from behind him and hurled it at John’s face.

John drew back with a surprised growl - no clipboard to shield him this time, and temporarily disoriented.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Seb raced back towards the land drop off behind Seed Ranch, the herald cursing behind him. He’d almost reached the fence when suddenly he was knocked off of his feet, tackled from behind. He landed hard on his side and grunted, trying to twist around in time to shove the other man off of him, but unfortunately John was a bit faster. He grabbed Seb’s wrists and slammed them to the ground by his head, holding him securely in place.

“ _Why_ can’t you see??” he demanded, his features tight with indignation. He shifted forward and sat on Seb’s middle, pinning him down underneath him. “Why don’t you understand what I’m trying to do?? My responsibility is to _save_ people’s lives, their very _souls!_ I’m trying to save _yours!_ ” He glowered down at Seb, teeth bared dangerously. “ _Why_ must you always oppose me at _every turn??_ ”

Seb stared daggers back at him, his frustration growing by the second. “The way to reach people is _not_ through pain or fear, you... jackass!” He wrenched his wrists out of John’s grip and gripped the front of his coat, yanking him forward forcefully. If he hadn’t been so fired up, he might have snickered at the way John’s eyes widened at the action. “What, do you expect me to _thank_ you? To be...  _grateful_ that you abducted me, branded me, keep antagonizing me and my friends?? Please, allow me to show my appreciation!”

Impetuosity apparently described Seb to a ‘T’ today. It wasn’t until several moments later - _after_ his brain had caught up to him again - that he’d realized he’d hauled John closer and brazenly thrust his mouth against the herald’s.

John didn’t shove him away - but didn’t reciprocate the action, either.

The weight of Seb’s actions suddenly dawned on him. He pulled away from John as if he’d been doused with a bucket of ice water, staring up at him saucer-eyed.

_‘Ohh f-... what have I done??’_ he panicked. John was gaping down at him, looking as stupefied as Seb felt. He contemplated a couple feeble excuses off the top of his head - he was drunk, delirious from Bliss, had suffered a minor head injury...  _anything_ to get him the hell out of this - when John suddenly grabbed the front of his jacket and lunged forward, capturing his lips fiercely.

Seb’s eyes slid closed, anything resembling a rational thought in his head now blown to hell. He reached up and carded his fingers through John’s hair, unable to hold back the soft moan that escaped him as he kissed him back. There was a bit of a power struggle for a few seconds (or it could have been minutes... hours... who could tell??), each man trying to get the upper hand on the other.

“Brother John?”

The two broke away from each other gasping and flushed, broken from their reverie by a voice and the crunch of approaching footsteps in the snow.

Concentrating as much as he could, Seb gave John a hard shove back and launched himself out from underneath him, leaping over the fence behind them and taking off towards the woods. He didn’t look back, resolved to just _get_ _away, run run run... GO..._

It wasn’t until several minutes later that he bothered to pause, winded and panting for breath as he leaned against a section of rock. As the air slowly returned to his lungs, he couldn’t help reaching for the radio clipped to his side. He stared at it for a long time before turning the dial to a familiar channel and hesitantly pressing the talk button.

“Sssoooo.....” He grimaced at the crack in his voice and cleared his throat, trying (and probably failing) to sound calm and collected. “...I’m still not saying ‘thank you’. Just... so you know.”

There was no response from the radio, and after several silent moments Seb was about to give up - when suddenly it crackled to life and a voice answered, the reply sounding as cool as the air around him.

“...I mean what I told you before, Sebastian. I truly believe that you’re not beyond salvation. I hope, in time, you’ll come to see that as well.”

The corner of Seb’s mouth twitched upwards a little.

“You’ve already come to me once,” John continued. “I pray you’ll see the error of your ways and return, ready to atone for your sins. And when you do… I’ll be waiting.”

True, going to the ranch had been risky. Maybe even downright stupid.

But... it had been totally worth it.


End file.
